Does Thinking On Your Feet Need to be Hard?

No, it doesn’t!

Have you ever experienced brain freeze when replying?

Felt put on the spot when dealing with Q and A?

Find you repeat yourself when saying something?

Just felt like the message didn’t get across?

These and more are common experiences when communicating with others!

When we are under pressure or rush our responses, our message is confusing.

Let me share a secret of communication with you!

Click play on the video below - just once - and identify the number.

Note down what you think the number was.

Round 2! A slightly different format - click on play and see if you can work out what he number is. Only click once!

Note down what you think the number is this time.

One more go! Click play on the video below.

What makes the difference?

The number is easy to understand if we break it down in to easy to digest parts. We can quickly tell what it is.

The same happens with our communication. If we are rushed or under pressure, our thoughts are jumping to different ideas and we deliver them in this way to our listener. Usually this is new information for them. How can they understand and take them on board if the ideas are mixed together?

For some of us, we may speak more like the second number format. The ideas are there and we move from one to the other however, there isn't a gap, break or transition for our listener to know that we have moved on to the next idea. They can become confused by what we are saying or miss key ideas as they do not realise we have moved on to a different idea.

What we need to develop for clear communication to work is to quickly organise our thinking and deliver our ideas like the last number. The ideas are clear and the listener knows when we are moving on to the next idea. In this format, it is easy for the listener to follow what we are saying and to take the message on board. It is also easier for us - we know what we want to talk about and with clear thinking, we will speak clearly.

Think on Your Feet® is designed as a masterclass in communication techniques that you can easily learn and use straight away. Whether you are caught unexpectedly with a question, writing an email or planning a presentation and dealing with Q and A, these are practical techniques that really do make a difference.

Clearing our head, quickly focussing on what we want to say and delivering ideas without hesitation is a powerful ability.

If you would like to speak with Clarity, Brevity and Impact, you can find more information here!